


How to save a life

by grillantho



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I'll update the tags as I go, Kidnapping, M/M, Slow Burn, demons don't exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:36:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24940945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grillantho/pseuds/grillantho
Summary: Ryuuji likes to think of himself as a simple man. He got a job at the bookstore near campus because he needed money and he could get his text books for either a damn good price or free. All his plans of a simple semester went out the window when a dark haired boy came in everyday just to read the manga. Feelings blossom as he gets to know the little bastard, and Ryuuji is thrown into a tailspin when his regular doesn’t show up for 17 consecutive days (Not that he’s counting)
Relationships: Okumura Rin/Suguro "Bon" Ryuuji
Comments: 96
Kudos: 132





	1. Nice to meet ya

It was only Ryuuji’s second week working at the bookstore but he already had a vendetta for one of the regulars. He was a goddamn regular alright, he came in every damn day. But did he buy anything? Nope. He just buggered off into the Manga section and stayed there for 3 hours. He read the books and didn’t buy anything. Who in their right mind does that? 

_Ugh, I can feel the migraine coming on already_. Ryuuji thought as he saw that familiar mop of deep blue hair sauntering over to the Manga section. He didn’t have much time to debate going over and yelling at him as a customer was suddenly ready to check out and he threw on his customer service smile. “Hi! How are you today?” _Kill me, kill me now_. Was his only thought.

* * *

" ** _OOOOH no don’t tell me Suguro-I-don’t-have-time-for-romance-Ryuuji has a crush?!_** ” exclaimed the man with pink hair and a t-shirt that read ‘official orgasm donor’ 

Ryuuji sighed. This is gonna be a long night. Why did he tell his two friends about the boy from the shop? “Shut up Shima-I-haven’t-had-a-girl-even-look-at-me-since-grade-school-Renzou”

Konekomaru started laughing while Shima went red and started sputtering excuses. After a few minutes of that he finally shut his mouth and resorted to glaring at his camera.  
“So can you tell me what to do? I feel like I should’ve said something the first time he came in, but it’s just weird now.” Ryuuji asked as he ignored Renzou.

“ ** _I think you should just talk to him Bon, just casually bump into him while stocking shelves or something. You’re so curious as to why he comes in everyday right? Maybe just start by asking him his name and go from there_** ” Konekomaru suggested. Ryuuji thought for a moment about what Konekomaru said. 

“Okay yeah that should work” he said as he nodded. “Well I have to be up early for class, tomorrow so I should be heading back to bed. Thanks Konekomaru”

“ ** _hEY! What about me? I had to sit here and listen to you rant for hours, I should at lea-_** ” Ryuuji cut Renzou’s exclamation short as he slammed his laptop closed. He sighed while stretching out his arms over his head. On his way over to his bed he grabbed a book.

* * *

The next day as Ryuuji was re-stocking the manga section he was humming the tune to his favourite song so he missed the sound of footsteps behind him

“Aww sweet! The new issue of Love me, Love me not is out!” A voice from behind him called out. Ryuuji jumped 50 feet into the air and let out quite a manly squeak.Once he was faced with the person who almost gave him a damn heart attack he almost stopped breathing. 

It was him.

The damn guy who comes in everyday to read manga was laughing. At him. Great. 

Ryuuji cleared his throat before speaking. “W-what can I do for you sir?” When the mystery man only started laughing harder Ryuuji went a very deep shade of red. 

“I-I I can’t believe you didn’t h-hear me coming up b-behind y-you!” he got out between wheezes. “I’m like the l-loudest person I know” 

Ryuuji turned even redder as he looked down. 

After a good 5 minutes the raven haired man was finally composed enough to breathe properly.  
“Anyways… I’m going back to the front desk. If you need any help please don’t hesitate to let me know.” and with that Ryuuji walked away. It took all of Ryuuji’s willpower to not deck the guy right then and there and so he had to leave before getting fired.

“W-wait! Uhh Suguro right? The name’s Okumura Rin! It was nice to meet you!” 

Ryuuji turned around and asked “How did you know my name?” before mentally smacking himself

“Wait. Don’t answer that”

He forgot he had a name tag on.

“Nice to meet you Okumura. As I said earlier, if you need help with anything i’ll be right there” He pointed to the direction of the front desk and continued walking away.

 _Rin huh?_ He thought while walking. _Well I finally know the name of my current enemy. Stupid dude thinks he can loiter here? Well he has another thing coming.. He was kind of cu-_

Ryuuji mentally smacks himself again.

_What am I thinking? He is so not my type._


	2. Level of concern

Over the next few weeks Ryuuji started to get to know Rin. His hate for him has diminished, because how can you hate someone so goddamn optimistic and bright as Okumura Rin?  
That’s right. You can’t hate the little bastard.

Even though he raises more questions than he has answers for. Rin complicates Ryuuji’s understanding of what he thought people were like. Rin is like a labyrinth.

Take for instance, the first time he stumbled upon Rin bawling his eyes out while reading a manga. At first he was very concerned and almost bit back his pride to comfort the man but then Rin noticed he was there and went on an hour long rant about the two main characters of the Shoujo Manga he was currently reading. Ryuuji walked out of work that day with more knowledge than he deemed necessary about the love lives of fictional characters.

It baffled him how someone who wore fingerless gloves and attached a chain in the belt loop of his jeans could be such a sap for romance stories. 

They developed a comfortable routine. Rin had started to come in for basically Ryuuji’s entire shift and Ryuuji was secretly glad for someone to talk to (His co-workers aren’t the best. They’re mostly bored teenagers working minimum wage except for that one chick that tries to pass off as 18 but is actually 26. Ryuuji hasn’t figured her out quite yet)

However, Ryuuji’s thoughts were starting to become unpleasant. His mind apparently didn’t get the memo that romance was out of the question no matter what, as he kept getting bombarded with feelings that he didn’t have time to sort out at the moment. 

“Hey Suguro! Can ya help me find something?” Ryuuji looked up in shock. _Well that’s a first._ He thought as he got the computer in front of him ready.

“Sure. What can I help you with Okumura?” Rin dug through his pocket for a moment and held up a scrap of paper with a dazzling smile. 

“I’m looking at applying for some sous-chef jobs in town so I need to step up my game. I googled last night and found some book that can teach me some techniques that I haven’t quite perfected yet” Rin handed the paper to Ryuuji and the latter was honestly surprised at how neat the former’s handwriting was. 

There was a comfortable silence as Ryuuji typed the title into the search bar. It took a few moments to load and when it did Ryuuji turned the monitor around to face Rin.

“So we have this edition of the book here, in the culinary section. Do ya want me to show you where it is?” Ryuuji silently pleaded for Rin to say yes.

“Sure! Lead the way, Rooster boy!” Rin exclaimed to Ryuuji's dismay. Ryuuji joked to Rin a few weeks prior about his old dyed mohawk hairstyle that he had in highschool and ever since then Rin has taken to calling him Rooster boy. Ryuuji’s hair wasn’t even dyed anymore! 

“You call me that again and this pen will find its way into the side of your skull” Ryuuji retorted as he walked around to the other side of the counter. 

While walking over Ryuuji realised something.

“I never knew you could cook! Why’ve you been holding out on me man?” Rin sheepishly laughed and rubbed a hand on his neck

“Yeah.. my brother says it’s my only useful skill.” Ryuuji was a bit taken back by that _That’s kind of a backhanded compliment…_

Rin paused for a moment before continuing “Maybe I could bring you dinner one day? Tell me your favourite meal and i’ll bring it next time I come in!” 

Ryuuji, the broke university student he was, didn't even need to think about his answer.

“Yes. Please. I haven’t eaten anything other than take-out and instant Ramen in the past 4 months.” Ryuuji replied. Rin looked shocked.

“Okay hold on, how do you have such an awesome bod if you eat literal garbage all the damn time? Is exercise really that great?” Rin paused and looked at Ryuuji for an answer.

“I mean, it is. I do run every morning before class and workout 4 times a week” 

“Holy shit. I wish I had your intensity.I seriously don’t have the attention span to workout for a long period of time” Rin shook his head before continuing.

“Anyways, do you not have a kitchen or something? Have you ever tried making real food? C’mon, cooking isn’t all that hard. I can even give you some pointers!” Rin smiled up at Ryuuji. 

“Uhhh I don’t think you’d want me in a kitchen, last time I tried cooking I set water on fire and blew up a microwave” Ryuuji shuddered at the memory of his mother’s kitchen afterwards. 

It was not a pretty sight. 

Rin had his mouth open comedically wide after hearing what Ryuuji said.

“I’m sorry… how, how do you set water on fire?” Rin asked. 

Ryuuji simply shrugged. 

“Anyways, here’s the culinary section Okumura. I’ve gotta go back up front.” 

As Ryuuji turned around he quickly responded to a question Rin asked a few minutes ago.

“And, my favourite meal is curry buns.”

* * *

It has been just over two weeks since Ryuuji had seen Rin. The last time he saw him was when he bought that cook book and promised to bring him in food next time he came. 

Okay maybe he’s a little worried. But like, he was coming in every single day for months and now he hasn’t shown up in a while? Sue him. He’s concerned. The bastard wormed his way into Ryuuji’s thoughts and he almost missed his morning run yesterday because of a dream involving the two of them.

Ryuuji groaned and flopped his head on his desk. It stayed there for a few minutes before he turned his head to look at the clock. 

It was almost time for his weekly call with Renzou and Konekomaru.

* * *

“ ** _So you’re telling me that he just disappeared off of the face of the earth Bon? C’mon don’t be ridiculous, you said he was applying for a job right? He’s probably just busy_** ” replied Renzou, who was wearing a T-shirt that read ‘My sexual preference? Often’ 

Ryuuji had to agree with Renzou for the first time in his life. He sighed out loud before responding with

“Okay maybe you have a point Shima. I’m over reacting. It’s only been 17 da- I mean it’s only been like about 2 weeks.” Ryuuji had to cut himself off in fear of vocalizing anymore damning information.

Both Renzou and Konekomaru let out a snort 

“ ** _See Bon you do have a crush on him!~_** ” Renzou was so lucky he was in a different country at the moment or else Ryuuji would have decked him right then and there. 

Ryuuji really needed to change the topic so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind

“So, Shima how long are you gone for this time?” Renzou was normally out of the country for his work. Ryuuji still hasn’t found out exactly what he does, Renzou always avoids the question. 

He laughed before responding. “ ** _Oh I should be back within the month! I’ll probably be back in time for when your exam season ends in July._** ”

“Okay cool. Koneko are you gonna come out to Tokyo for the break?” 

The friend in question shook his head

“ ** _No, i’m not able to. I got that internship and I want to put a lot of hours in over the break. Sorry bon._** ”

Ryuuji was a little disappointed that his childhood friend couldn’t make time but he shoved that feeling away. 

“Okay, that’s fine. Good for you for getting the internship!” Ryuuji checked the time. It was almost 11pm. 

“Well sorry guys but I have a 5am shift in the morning so I gotta go. Goodnight!” And with that he closed his laptop. 

He tried sleeping but for some reason he stayed awake staring at his ceiling. 

So he turned on the news while he went to make tea. As he sat down mug in hand, he took a sip of his tea while the news anchor started talking  
“ _The police have found a new lead in the kidnapping of Okumura Rin. They still ask for anyone with information or who has seen Okumura in the past two weeks to come forward_ ” 

A photo of Rin was on screen. Ryuuji’s mind short circuited as he processed the information. 

He spat out his tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And thank you so much to everyone who commented on the first chapter, I always get so so happy to see an email that someone's commented. Also, thank you to everyone who gives Kudos as well!!
> 
> Anyways! I went back to work today after being off for 3 months and fainted from heat/exaustion 30 minutes before my shift ended.. paramedics had to be called but I'm all good now lmao. (I work at a fast food place and forgetting to eat all day and having to wear a mask in a really hot store is not a good combo lmao)


	3. I lost a friend

His tea had long since gone cold but Ryuuji couldn’t bring himself to care.

He couldn’t think straight at the moment. Who would want to kidnap Rin? Ryuuji was under the impression that based on Rin’s hour-long rants about nothing, was that he could annoy any aspiring kidnappers into letting him go.

He thought back to what he learned in his criminology class last week. They were learning statistics about different types of crime. He ran for his desk and frantically searched for his criminology notebook. It took a moment of flipping through the colour coordinated pages until he found the one he was looking for. This section was mostly on child abductions-as those are most common-but he still thought it was applicable. 

Ryuuji skimmed over most of the page until he reached the line he was looking for.

‘Over 40% of incidents end in murder.’

He slammed the book shut. Sometimes being a law student wasn’t for the best. Ignorance really is bliss. Ryuuji knew he wasn’t going to sleep for the rest of the night so he pulled out his phone to do some research. Typing Okumura’s name into the search bar yielded more results than Ryuuji was expecting. Clicking on the top result he settled into his bed and began reading. _On Friday, June 20th an unknown suspect broke into the Southern Cross Boys’ Monastery and brutally attacked the residents. The injured include the priest of the church, Father Fujimoto Shiro, who is currently in the hospital because of his injuries. Police believe that Fujimoto fought back against the assailant in an effort to stop his adopted son, Okumura Rin from getting injured. However, Okumura was presumably taken when Fujimoto was knocked unconscious. Okumura Rin’s twin brother Yukio states that he came home to his father on the ground bleeding out and a missing brother. At the time of writing this article, the police have no leads as to who committed this horrendous crime. The public is urged to come forward with any information about Okumura Rin’s disappearance_ ’

* * *

Ryuuji felt like a walking corpse. Hell, he probably looked like one too. For the past week, all of his free time has been dedicated to researching Rin’s case and asking ‘hypothetical’ questions to his teachers. After doing all of his initial research he came to realize where he recognized the name Okumura Yukio from. It took him a little bit to remember, but Yukio was a scholarship student like Ryuuji at his school. Ryuuji was really hoping that Okumura-2 would want to talk to him and doesn’t think he’s a weirdo. Thanks to mutual ‘friends’ on Instagram he found Yukio’s profile quicker than he thought he would and spent the better part of an hour trying to convince himself to press the ‘Request to follow’ button. 

He pressed the blue button and immediately turned his phone off. He placed it on the table beside his bed before leaning back and sighing. He was dumbfounded that he was in this mess. This was certainly not how he planned on his semester going. It was almost exam season already! Sighing, he rubbed his hand on his face. He had an idea on how to help with the case, but it was a shot in the dark. However, he wasn’t studying to become a detective for nothing though.

* * *

Lately, he’s been feeling like that meme Shima sent him a while back of the man in front of the evidence board with a crazy expression. He broke down and started an evidence wall in his apartment. It was small unfortunately, as there was barely anything Ryuuji could find in the public domain. He’d been planning to go to the station and ask to help with the investigation, but he decided to do that after his exams were finished. He had one more exam to write and then he was done until September. 

Rin had been missing for a little over a month now. 35 days. The fact that nobody’s found a body quite yet has filled him with hope. They need to find Rin and fast. They don’t have many leads (From what Ryuuji had gotten from his research) so he was assuming the case would be going cold soon.

He was not going to let that happen.

It was kinda funny how quickly he became obsessed with this case, he knew that he hadn’t known Rin for very long but Ryuuji just had this feeling.  
The feeling he gets whenever he thinks about what happened to his temple.

The investigation of the Blue Night may have been stopped but once Ryuuji becomes a detective he will be opening it and solving it once and for all. He will find the bastard who destroyed his temple. 

Just like he will find Okumura Rin alive.

The bastard's too stupid to die anyways.

Right?

* * *

Ryuuji was upset that Yukio hadn’t accepted his follow request yet, but he understood. His twin brother was abducted and his father’s in a coma. 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he opened the door to the police station, files in hand. 

“Hello Sir, how can we help you?” The secretary asked him as he walked up. 

“I’d like to meet with the person in charge of the Okumura Rin kidnapping case. I think I have some information that they’d like to hear.” 

The secretary sighed before answering Ryuuji.

“Okay. Give me your name and phone number and I will see if Detective Light will want to speak with you. Just be warned, he is… how do I put this... Eccentric.” Ryuuji’s eyes lit up. 

“Detective Light is on this case? _The Lightning_? Oh my god, okay. My name is Suguro Ryuuji and I’ll write down my number on a slip of paper for you. Thank you.”

* * *

Rin had no idea how long he had been away from the monastery. He had no idea if his father was still alive, or if Yukio’s okay.

All he knows is that the sick bastard that took him is trying to force him to join him.

Rin just wants to go back to the way things were before, and go back to the bookstore he started going to because of the hot new employee.

He misses Suguro.

He was planning on asking him out when he brought him the food he had cooked, but now he knows that will never happen.

He sure as hell isn’t coming out alive, but that doesn’t mean he’ll leave without a fight. 

“Now Rin, you can end all of this pain if you would just join me! Be my right-hand man, you know it’s in your blood.” A sickly sweet voice called out. 

“There’s a snowball’s chance in hell of me joining you, you sick freak” Rin spat back. 

“You’ll change your mind sooner or later. I’m sure about that.”

Yeah, Rin was going to go down kicking and screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! 
> 
> Thank you for all the people who commented last chapter making sure I was okay, y’all are too sweet ❤️


	4. All you left behind (Became my everything)

It only took a few hours of waiting in the police station for Ryuuji to be seen by Lewin. They sat in an interrogation room for their meeting and Ryuuji felt weird sitting in such a room. Lewin took the file from Ryuuji and sat silently across from him while reading. 

“So, I heard you’re a genius, kid.” Lewin was the one to break the ice

“I-I’m sorry, what? You know me?” Ryuuji balked

Lewin let out a laugh. “Of course, you’re one of the only students at the university that got in on a scholarship. And I’ve also heard of the cases you helped with back in Kyoto.”

Ryuuji went red at that. A really famous detective that he kinda-sorta looked up to was just sitting there praising him. 

“So.” He cleared his throat. “What do you think of the evidence I’ve collected?” Ryuuji asked.

“It’s way more organised than I could ever hope to be! I’m impressed!” Lewin replied. 

Ryuuji didn't know how to respond to that so he thanked him quietly before continuing,“I was sort of hoping that I could join in on the investigation. Like you said, I have experience in helping the police, and I am one of the top students in my program. Lewin leaned back in his chair so far, Ryuuji was a little scared that he would fall backwards.

“If you’re really serious about being my assistant, prove it.” 

“Huh!?” Ryuuji blurted out “How can I prove it any further?”

“Solve a case for me!~” Lewin replied. Ryuuji was about to blow a fuse. He didn’t care about any other case. Just this one! However, he knew yelling at the man that he hoped to work with would not end well, so he calmed himself down by quickly reciting some mantras in his head.

“Fine. If that will show you I'm serious. What case can I help you with?”

* * *

He was given a case that looked like a simple breaking and entering gone wrong at first, but after some things didn't add up Ryuuji realized it was more complex than he originally thought. He gave Lewin his final verdict and the older man exclaimed “See I knew you were a prodigy! Let’s move to my office and we’ll disscuss more there”

Once they got to Lewin’s office Ryuuji’s brain couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. Sure, Lewin smelled like his old highschool’s locker room and the man had a rumpled appearance but he never expected _this_.He could not even see the floor over all of the books and files strewn about. _How does he get anything done?_ Ryuuji wondered as he recoiled in disgust. 

“Hehe yeah, It’s a bit of a pigsty at the moment, don’t mind the mess” And with that Lewin walked in, shoved some files off the couch and looked towards Ryuuji. “Make yourself at home! I think the files are around here somewhere, so just give me a minute” Ryuuji couldn’t hold it in anymore. 

“A minute? More like a year! Holy shit how do you get anything done?” Lewin laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I normally just look until I either find it or give up and ask Angel” Lewin looked over at Ryuji and laughed “But I think I may have just found something even better!” Ryuuji froze, books and files in hand. He didn’t even realize he had started to clean up the mess. 

“If I clean up your office for you will you give me the answer to every single question I ask?”

“..Yes” 

Ryuuji sighed. This was going to be a long day.

He walked out of the police station 4 hours later with 4 extra files in tow. He wasn’t sure how he did it, but he got photocopies of some of the evidence and information that wasn’t in the media.

* * *

Ryuuji was busy putting together his new and improved evidence board with the information Lightning gave him when he heard knocking on the door. Behind said door were his two childhood friends.

“Sup Bon? Guess who I brought?~” Konekomaru waved.

“I talked to the company I got the internship with, and they have an office out here in Tokyo that I can work at over the break! Isn’t this great? We’re all together again!” Ryuuji laughed and stepped back to let them into his apartment. “Yeah that’s great! Come on in guys, sorry it’s pretty messy at the moment.” Shima and Konekomaru’s jaws dropped. Normally what Suguro defines as messy is simply a book left out on the coffee table and a few dirty dishes in the sink. 

This was a whole new level. Cut out newspaper clippings were hung up on the wall along with papers and photos. Ryuuji’s bed was sloppily made and there was paper strewn all across the floor. “Okay..” Shima started wearily “Who are you and what have you done with Suguro Ryuuji?” Ryuuji slammed the door shut once the two crossed the threshold. 

“Shut it you, I've been busy.” Ryuuji continued hanging up the last of the papers he was working on and turned towards his childhood friends.

“Give me a minute to clean up and then we can go out for lunch.”

“Bon, it’s 7 in the evening”

“God damnit”

* * *

“You know Shima, i’m honestly surprised they let us in here with that awful shirt you’re wearing.” Ryuuji stated as they were seated at a table. Konekomaru hummed in agreement. “I never will know what it is that you like about those shirts, if anything I think it lowers your already abysmal chance for a partner.” Shima let out a whine. “You two are too mean! I think this shirt is perfect!”

Ryuuji deadpanned. “Shima. It literally says ‘The best things happen when you’re naked’” Shima laughed. “Hey! It’s just stating a fact!” Ryuuji slapped him upside the head.

“Hi there. Welcome. What can I get for- what the fuck it’s you.” The trio looked towards the waitress that just arrived. She had purple hair and a scowl on her face. 

“Heyy Izumo!~” Shima tilted his head as he winked at her. 

“Shima. Should I just drop kick you now, or after you try to ask me out for the 15th time?" Ryuuji and Konekomaru were both very confused. 

“Uhh how do you know her?” Ryuuji asked. 

“We were in the same Discord server and once I saw how beautiful she was I was completely smitten~” Renzou responded. 

“Basically, I sent one selfie of myself to the chat and he went completely nuts over it. Now. Get out.”

“Oh you’re so cruel!” Renzou threw his hand over his heart “I’m simply just here with my good friends to eat. Any suggestions?~” 

“Our special tonight is my foot up your ass, would you like my left or right one?” Izumo shot back. 

“Ouch. Okay. You’re mean Izumo-chan” Shima pouted. “Bon, Koneko, go before me, I need time to heal from that brutal attack.” 

“I’m sorry about him, he was dropped a few times as a child.” Ryuuji said. “Anyways, can I just get the Gyudon please?” Izumo nodded as she noted it down on her notepad. “And I’ll get the Beef Curry please.” Konekomaru said as he handed his menu over to Izumo. 

“What about you, Mr. Wise ass? What would you like?” Ryuuji asked as he poked Renzou’s shoulder. “I’ll get the Tonkatsu!” Shima winked again at Izumo. 

An hour later they were finishing up their food when Ryuuji finally asked his friends an important question. 

“So. Why did you come to stay, Shima? I thought you were just going to visit me for a few days.” Renzou sighed before responding. “Honestly, my dad’s been mad-dogging me to come out here ever since you got accepted into the academy. I was able to hold him off when I was away for work but he wouldn’t let me hear the end of it when I came back home.” 

Ryuuji nodded and hummed before responding. Okay, that makes sense. We should probably head back, it’s getting late.” He went to stand but then thought of something pretty important. 

“By the way, where are you two staying?” Ryuuji asked. 

Shima gave a sheepish smile. 

“Since it was last minute that I was going to be _living_ out here, I’m going to be crashing at your place until further notice!~” Ryuuji could feel the migraine already. 

“Won’t this be fun Bon? Koneko was able to snag an apartment in the same building as yours so it’ll be like we’re on that American show… oh I forget the name of it!” Renzou thought for a second before his face lit up.

“It’ll be like we’re on Friends! I’m Rachel, and you’re totally Monica, Bon.” 

“Great. I can't wait.” Ryuuji sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!


	5. Lights will guide you home

Ryuuji was one minor inconvenience away from a meltdown. First, Renzou had been crashing on his couch for only 3 days and he already made Ryuuji want to commit murder. Once Konekomaru and Renzou found his not-so-little evidence board they both raised a few questions. Konekomaru had some genuine worries. 

“Bon, this isn’t healthy! You can’t be obsessing over this!”

And Renzou was a pompous ass. 

“Okay Bon I know you have a crush on the kid but man this is like creepy stalker mode!” Renzou had been making comments like that ever since and Ryuuji can’t take it. 

(He so does not have a crush on Rin Okumura, he simply doesn’t have time for romance. 

The only reason he wants to solve this case is to find his _friend_.) Next, he had a bunch of dumbass students from the university come in and ask for a textbook.

Innocent enough, right?

Wrong. Both of them fucking forgot which program they were in, did not know what course it was for, and had no idea what the title or author was. And finally, the icing on the fucking cake, was Lewin Light™ He called Ryuuji right when his shift ended at 7:00 and forced him to go across town to his office. He had no idea what the hell Lewin wanted but if he wasn’t home and settled in bed with his book by 10:30 he was going to seriously consider murder for the third time that day. When he finally arrived he was so glad that the office was still in the clean state he left it in. 

“Ah welcome Ryuuji, sit down. I have something important I found out.” Lewin said from behind his desk. Ryuuji brought out his notepad and took a seat on the couch. 

“Did you find out where Rin is?” Ryuuji asked. Lewin let out a sigh “No. Although, this information may help us find him.”

“Well, what did you find?” “Ryuuji, you know the Blue Night case like the back of your hand, correct?” 

Ryuuji didn’t even hesitate before confirming that he did. 

“So the Kyoto department told you what kind of wood shavings were found embedded in the footprints at the crime scene?”

Ryuuji nodded. He spent the better part of his high school years pestering the local department to give him all the info and he finally got it after he helped them solve a few cases.

“Yeah, the type of sawdust and the shoe size was never publicized. I don’t know why, but i’m assuming you’re going to tell me.”

Lewin hummed before he continued. 

“Actually no..” Lewin scratched the back of his head. “They don’t tell me stuff like that” 

“So what is your point exactly?” Ryuuji deadpanned. 

“The same exact sawdust was found in the same size shoe print on the Okumura crime scene.” 

No. 

This cannot be happening. 

It doesn’t exactly mean that it’s the same guy, but still. 

Fuck. 

“So we’re going to try to use the updated technology to track down where the shoe came from, and where the sawdust came from” Ryuuji couldn’t form words so he just nodded. 

“D’you think we could go get burgers now? Angel made me work all the way through lunch and i’m starving!” Lewin asked as he got up and grabbed his coat. Ryuuji already knew there was no point in refusing so he nodded again, not trusting his voice quite yet.

* * *

“I have to do whAT NOW?” Ryuuji exclaimed in the empty McDonalds. 

“Interview Okumura Yukio. Simple.” Lewin replied. 

Ryuuji slammed his palm on the table. “That is not simple! This is not how I planned on meeting. Rin’s famil-“ He cut himself off. “I mean, I thought Okumura would be there for when I met his brother” 

“Sorry kid, I just think that since you have an in with his brother he’ll be more talkative than with me.” Lewin smirked.

Ryuuji couldn’t argue with that so he shoved a few french fries into his mouth.

“Fine. I’ll do it. When am I questioning him?”

* * *

Ryuuji wasn’t too nervous walking into the interview but one look at Yukio made him start sweating buckets. Whenever Ryuuji saw him around school he looked a lot less…. _murder-y_ than he does now. But can he blame the kid? His twin brother is currently missing and his father is still in the hospital in a coma. Ryuuji cleared his throat as he sat down at Lewin's desk (He had gotten permission from Lewin to use his office for this)

“Thank you for coming in today Mr. Okumura.” 

“No problem.” Yukio replied before continuing on.

“Now, I’ve already been questioned by police officers..” Yukio looked Ryuuji dead in his eyes. “And last I checked, you were a university student, not an actual detective.” 

Ryuuji felt anger start to rise to the surface, but he ignored it. “You are right about that, I am an apprentice to Detective Lewin Light. He needed to ask you some questions and he thought I would be a better person for you to talk to.” Yukio pushed his glasses up as he shifted in his chair. Ryuuji squirmed a bit under his gaze. Who knew that Rin’s twin brother could be his polar opposite?

“Suguro right? You’re one of the other scholarship students at the university.”

Ryuuji nodded.

“I remember my brother mentioning the surname Suguro. Do you work at a bookstore?” Ryuuji pushed down the butterflies that popped up in his stomach when he heard that Rin mentioned him to his family. 

“Yes I do, I met Rin a few months ago and we became friends.” Ryuuji paused before continuing cautiously. “And, I thought I was the one that was supposed to lead the questioning here?” 

Yukio nodded and put a hand out to signal Ryuuji to continue. 

“Okay, first question Mr Okumura, do you know of anyone that would try to hurt your family or brother?” 

“As I told the police almost two months ago, no one to my knowledge would want to hurt my family.”

Ryuuji nodded. But before he could continue the door slammed open. 

Lewin stood there in the doorway with a terrifying look on his face. 

“Hi, sorry to interrupt. I just couldn’t help overhearing what you just said Mr. Okumura.”

Ryuuji was going to lose it. He wasn’t surprised that Lewin was eavesdropping, but he was seriously pissed off. “Lewin! I thought I was supposed to be leading this?”

Lewin waved him off as he grabbed a chair and sat on it, facing Yukio. 

“I’ll rephrase the question. I just got back from the lab, where they tested the blood they found again. It didn’t match anyone we have on file but it matched you and your twin’s DNA pretty closely!” Yukio sat up straighter as Lewin narrowed his eyes. 

“Now, I’m not too much of a scientist myself, but when two -well three in this case- people share DNA there’s a pretty damn good chance of them being related.” Lewin got out of his chair and loomed over Yukio. 

“So. Why did daddy dearest kidnap your brother?” 

Yukio shot out of his chair. “My biological father is a no good hood who’s only accomplishment was seducing my mother. My _real_ father fought to keep him away from my stupid brother and almost got himself killed for his efforts.” 

Yukio then turned towards the door but Lewin blocked his path. 

“Sorry kid but you’re not leaving until I get answers. So sit back down.” 

“No. I am not going to sit down, I have nothing further to say.” He huffed and pushed past Lewin “I'm done here.”

Yukio tried to storm out of the room but Lewin grabbed his arm. 

“Sit. Down. Now.” 

Yukio had a look on his face that would be kind of comical in any other situation. 

“Ryuuji, continue asking your questions!~” Lightning said as he left the room. 

“Uhm. I am very sorry about detective Lewin, he can be quite intense” Ryuuji said.

Yukio just stared up at him from where he was sitting. 

“So… Do you remember Father Fujimoto mentioning anything about anyone wanting to harm him or your brother? We have reason to believe that he knew the assailant.”

Yukio took a few minutes to respond. Ryuuji shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“My father, Father Fujimoto has met _him_ before but that is all I know.” Yukio stood up. 

“May I go now?” 

When Ryuuji hesitated Yukio stormed out. 

“Hey! I wasn’t finished!” But Ryuuji’s cry fell on deaf ears. 

Ryuuji sighed. Man, that was not a great first impression. How can Rin be related to him, nevermind be his twin brother? Ryuuji packed up his things and groaned as he looked in his bag. He forgot his textbook in the break room at the shop. He had to go back and get it, as it was where he stored all of his notes for Rin’s case.

* * *

Rin was running faster than he ever ran before. 

He did it. 

He got out. 

He finally took advantage of the fact that they leave him alone in the basement at night. Rin had managed to finally tear away at the rope they had him in and kicked in the window and crawled out. He's praying to a god that very well might not exist that he makes it out alive. 

He had chosen a random direction to run in and he was so happy that he was finally in a place he recognized. It was very funny how his body just took him to this section of town, the section with his beloved bookstore. His legs gave up on him and he collapsed on the warm pavement. He tried to get back up but found that his limbs no longer responded to him. 

He could vaguely hear someone running over to him but he was too tired to try and see who it was. Hands were all over his body, someone was shaking him. Couldn’t they just let him sleep?

“-in, Rin! Open your eyes! Hang on!” Where did he know that voice from?

“Rin please! Don’t do this to me!” 

Oh

_Oh_

He did it. He made it to the bookstore, he got to hear Suguro’s voice once more. He stopped trying to fight the exhaustion in his body. He heard one last thing before the world went dark. 

“RIN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: The last part where Rin escapes was one of the first things I wrote for this fic! I’ve been trying to figure out when to put it in and it just felt like this chapter was the perfect fit
> 
> Thank you to thedoodlelord for letting me use the customer interaction at the beginning of the chapter!


	6. Can’t take my eyes off you

Ryuuji was sitting in the hospital waiting room completely dumbfounded. He had just left the bookstore when he saw someone collapse. He ran over and got the biggest shock of his life when he saw Rin bleeding out on the sidewalk. 

_“Oh my god. Okumura?” He said desperately. He received no response and so he started shaking him. “Okumura? Okumura!” He cried out._

_“Rin! Rin! Open your eyes! Hang on!” He pleaded as he took out his phone to call emergency services. Of course, his phone was dead._

_Ryuuji was shaking Rin desperately now. “Rin please! Don’t do this to me!”_

_He just got him back, he can’t lose him. “RIN!” He roared._

He had no choice, he had to run Rin to the hospital. There was no phone in the shop and his co-workers had all gone home at the same time he left. Once he got to the hospital all of the adrenaline that carried him there disappeared the moment he walked through the doors. A scream and someone exclaiming “Oh my god!! Get a stretcher _now_!” Was the last thing he heard before succumbing to the darkness himself. 

He woke up an hour later, and found that Rin was in surgery. 

Ryuuji had passed out mainly from exhaustion, he hadn’t eaten or slept much that day and carrying someone for 45 straight minutes while running is not easy at all. He was then deemed healthy enough to wait in the waiting room and that’s where he had been for the past 3 hours. With a lot of time to spare Ryuuji did a lot of thinking. 

He was remembering his interrogation with Yukio earlier and something clicked. Why hadn’t he realized sooner? Lewin said that it was very likely that the person who kidnapped Rin, was the same person that attacked his temple on the blue night. 

And Lewin basically got Yukio to confess that his father kidnapped Rin. So that means… Rin’s father is the one responsible for the massacre at his temple. 

No. No. No way someone like Rin, someone who probably didn’t even kill spiders, could be related to a literal demon.

* * *

The moment Yukio walked in Ryuuji got out his phone and started playing the only game he had on there so that he could avoid a confrontation. Yukio had other plans however. 

“Thank you for bringing my brother here.” Ryuuji looked up from playing Subway Surfer in shock. 

“Oh it was nothing. I’m so thankful that I was the one that found him” Ryuuji replied. Just before Yukio could respond a doctor came into the waiting room. 

“Are you both here for Mr. Okumura?” When the two boys nodded the Doctor continued. 

“He’s in critical condition, but we think he’ll pull through. He will heal physically, but we’re not too sure how he’ll pull through mentally.”

The two boys didn’t respond so the Doctor explained further. “Because we have no idea what went on during his captivity we do not know how badly he was affected. So just please be careful.”

* * *

Rin woke up to blury bright lights above him. 

“Oh my god! You’re awake!”

“Rin, can you hear me?”

Ugh it was too much. Couldn’t someone turn off the lights? 

“Oh shit the lights are probably bright for you, I’ll turn them off.”

Ah. Finally darkness. He blinked a few times and he saw a mop of brown hair come into view. 

“Good morning sleeping beauty.” Ryuuji said with a forced smile. Rin opened his mouth to try and reply with something witty but stopped when Ryuuji shook his head. 

“Don’t try to talk Rin, you need to save your energy.” Ryuuji helped Rin sit up. 

“I uh, i’m not too good with these things? So don’t try to interrupt me cause I just gotta get all this out.” Ryuuji took a deep breath before continuing.  
“So when you disappeared I started investigating. I’m currently working with the lead detective on your case.” He looked up at Rin. “I’m not here to interrogate you, that can happen later, I just wanted you to know that I’m involved with your case. And it’s because I couldn’t get you out of my mind? I don’t really know what I’m trying to say here, but I just wanted you to know that we were fighting to find you. I am so glad you got out. I’m so glad that I was the one that found you.” 

There was an awkward pause in the room once Ryuuji finished his ramble. Rin didn’t know how to feel. Ryuuji was actively looking for him? Why? He knew they were friends (his first friend other than Shiemi) but he didn’t think anyone would care that much about him.

“I-I don’t k-know what t-to say” Rin croaked out, his voice hoarse from the nights in the basement.  
“I’ve n-never had anyone care that much.”

Ryuuji’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” He asked, forgetting that he had only said moments earlier that Rin shouldn’t talk. 

“You’re one of my f-first friends. I honestly thought that people would give up on finding me” 

It was Ryuuji’s turn to be speechless. 

“Rin.” Ryuuji started slowly. “I don’t know what your past is like, but just know that if you’ll always have someone.” Ryuuji paused. “Me. We’re friends, don’t forget that!” Right. Friends. Rin squashed down any hope of a confession in that moment and just felt grateful for Ryuuji’s friendship. He didn’t, couldn’t ruin their friendship. >Besides, is Ryuuji even gay? He had no idea. With Rin’s luck, Ryuuji is probably straight.

Rin coughed and smiled at Ryuuji. “Anyways” Ryuuji said with a cough “Do you want some water or anything?”

Rin nodded. Ryuuji left for a moment to buy Rin a water bottle and chocolate bar from  
The vending machine outside. 

“You mentioned during one of our first conversations that you love Kit-Kats so I got you one.” Ryuuji said sheepishly. “You probably shouldn’t eat it right now, but if you’re feeling up to it in the next few hours, the nurse doesn’t have to know.” Rin’s heart fluttered at the fact that Ryuuji remembered something so trivial. As he sipped on his water (with help from Ryuuji) he looked around the hospital room he was in. It was then he realized someone was missing

“W-where’s Yukio and the Old ma-“ he cut off before he could finish. 

Shit. He completely forgot that his father was brutally attacked.

Everything rushed back to him.

* * *

_They were in the kitchen going over some tips in the cookbook Rin had bought earlier that day._

_Shiro was helping Rin make curry buns. When he asked Rin why he was adamant on making this specific food Rin just blushed and told him to ‘shut his old ass up’. They were just finishing up on the curry buns when there was a knock on the door._

_Shiro wiped his hands off on a towel and moved to open it when the door busted open._

_“Heya Fujimoto! Never thought you’d see me again, eh?”_

_He remembers being frozen in fear._

_“Heya kid! It’s me! Your papa! Or would you like to call me daddy?”_

_He remembers his **real** father yelling at him to run, that he could handle it. _

_Rin remembers not being able to move, no matter how hard he tried._

_The scream of his father when he had his head bashed in._

_His own agony when he got roughly thrown into the wall._

_He remembers stabbing the attacker with the knife that was in his hand._

_And the next thing Rin remembers is waking up with a gag in his mouth and his hands tied behind his back._

_Oh god he could still feel the ropes around his wrists_

* * *

When Rin didn’t finish his sentence and stared off into space Ryuuji became increasingly worried. 

It was when he was hyperventilating that he got up and pressed the button beside Rin that would call the nurse. Ryuuji didn’t know what Rin was remembering so he didn’t want to risk touching him in fear of making things worse. 

The nurse didn’t take too much time getting to the room and once he walked in and saw Ryuuji hovering over the hyperventilating boy in bed he quickly went to work. The nurse checked Rin’s vitals to make sure he didn’t have a dangerously high heart rate and let Ryuuji try to talk down Rin from his panic attack.

After a few minutes of Ryuuji muttering comforting things in Rin’s ear he could slowly see recognition in Rin’s eyes. 

“Rin, can I touch you?” A slight nod was all he needed before Ryuuji started rubbing circles on Rin’s back. 

When Rin’s breathing evened out the nurse left. Ryuuji brought Rin into a (careful) hug. 

“You’re alright now, you’re safe and so is your father. Yukio will be here shortly.”

After 2 days in the hospital Ryuuji finally convinced Yukio to go home, sleep and take a shower before coming back. 

“D-dad’s alive?” Rin whispered. 

“Yes. Yukio can fill you in on more when he gets here.” Ryuuji didn’t want to make Rin have another panic attack. Rin’s eyes drooped and Ryuuji chuckled. 

“You can go to sleep, ya know? I’ll be here when you wake up” At that Rin closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep. Ryuuji watched him for a moment before pulling out his notebook. 

After finishing off his final notes for Lewin he went back to watching Rin. 

Ryuuji cannot believe that Rin is finally back. He sets out to memorize Rin’s face. The way his eyes are shaped, and the slight point to his ears. He opened up a new page in his notebook and started sketching the man in front of him. 

Yes Rin’s father might have been the reason for his temple’s downfall, but there is no way in hell that the boy asleep in front of him would go down the same path.

It just didn’t make sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> This chapter is brought to you by: My new animal crossing addiction! I got the game yesterday and I love being in debt to this fictional racoon man.


	7. Liar (Time after time)

Yukio arrived about an hour after Rin fell asleep. Ryuuji had been sketching Rin in a bunch of different poses, drawing his bright smile from memory.

“You can leave if you want, I can take it from here.” Yukio said as he sat down in the other chair in the room. Ryuuji shook his head “Nah, I’m fine with hanging out here. I’ve already called Lewin and he agreed with me that it’s in his best interest to wait a few days until we interrogate him.” Yukio nodded in agreement before clearing his throat. “So. You and my brother are together, yes?” 

Ryuuji almost threw the notebook across the small room. 

“Huh?! N-no, it’s nothing like that! We’re just friends!’ Ryuuji protested. Yukio frowned. “From the amount that he talked about you and the fact that he spent basically the entirety of your shifts at the bookstore I thought one of you had finally made the first move… I am sorry for presuming.”

Ryuuji didn’t know how to respond to that so he quickly changed the topic. 

“S-so anyways, How is your father doing?” As he asked, Yukio sat straighter in his chair. 

“Better. He is still in a coma. I will need to inform Rin of that when he wakes up.” Ryuuji nodded and opened his notebook again. He avoided the page with his sketches of Rin, he didn’t want Yukio to think he was a creep.

* * *

Rin woke up an hour later when the doctor had to come in and check his vitals. Ryuuji was asked to step out and when he came back in Rin and Yukio were talking. From how quiet Rin was Ryuuji assumed Yukio told him about their father. Ryuuji sat back down in his previous spot and pulled the chair closer to Rin’s bed. 

“So, what’d the doc say?” Ryuuji asked as he settled in. 

“Well the wound on my side is only a little minorly baddish, and the rest of me is fine!” Rin replied. Yukio scoffed.“I don’t think I’d call a major infection ‘minorly bad’ brother.” Yukio said. “Besides that isn’t even proper grammar...” he mumbled before shaking his head. “The doctor said that if she hadn’t caught it when she did that you would most likely be dead.” Ryuuji’s eyes widened in horror. “And your wrists have a terrible case of rope burn along with-.”

Rin just waved him off. “Details schmetails” 

“You could have died Rin! Don’t just…” Yukio sighed as he adjusted his glasses. He stood up and started walking towards the door. “Fine. I’m used to you being like this. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we can go visit father then.” 

“Can I have that Kit-Kat now? I wasn’t able to eat it earlier.” Rin asked a bit sheepishly. Ryuuji blanked for a moment, he forgot that he had the chocolate bar in his bag. 

“Yeah, sure! I’ll get it for you.” Ryuuji answered while getting it out of said bag.  
He opened the wrapper for Rin and passed it to him. 

They sat in comfortable silence while Rin ate his chocolate bar. When he finished half of it he offered the rest to Ryuuji.

“Please, I cannot eat all of this at the moment. It’s too sweet!” Rin exclaimed. 

Ryuuji was nibbling on the chocolate when Rin spoke up. 

"So I just realized that I have no idea what you’re in school for Suguro.” Ryuuji was briefly surprised at hearing that. As he thought about it he realized he had never really mentioned it to Rin during their conversations. 

“I’m studying to be a private detective. It’s uh,” He scratched the back of his neck nervously “It’s my lifelong goal…” Rin’s eyes lit up.

“Woah! That’s cool! You’re gonna be a _private_ detective, right? How come not just a regular cop?” Rin questioned. 

Ryuuji didn’t hesitate to answer, “I don’t like them too much. The whole reason I want to become a detective is to find the bastard who massacred my temple’s clergymen. The police were too stupid to figure out..” he faltered. He forgot what he had learned just days ago. “Who it was…” he finished quietly. 

If Rin seemed to notice Ryuuji’s falter at the end, he ignored it. “Ah okay, that makes sense! I’m sorry bout your temple.” Rin responded. Ryuuji thanked him before switching topics. 

“So, why do you wanna become a chef?” He questioned. For the next ten minutes they chatted back and forth, learning about each other. For some reason when they chatted at the bookstore they didn’t get into deep conversations like they were now. 

They were interrupted by Yukio frantically running in. “Rin! It’s dad, I went to go see if you could go visit him and when I was walking by his room there was a big commotion.”

Yukio paused for a moment to catch his breath. 

“He’s awake!” He said with a big smile.

* * *

Ryuuji let Rin and Yukio go visit their father and so he stayed behind. He was very happy that their father had finally woken up. Right when he was about to open up his phone to play subway surfer he got a phone call from Lewin. 

“Ryuuji, meet me outside the hospital in 10. We have some catching up to do.” was all the man said before he hung up. Lewin called back immediately however, “Make it 20. I want you to go get me my usual order from McDonalds.” Ryuuji could physically feel his blood pressure rising through the roof, but he shoved down resentment and headed out towards the nearest McDonalds. 

Twenty-Five minutes (And almost being hit by a rogue taxi) later, Ryuuji was waiting outside the hospital for Lewin.

“Oh there you are! I have some info for you.” Lewin said as he held out his hand for the McDonalds bag. 

“I have some for you too, Fujimoto woke up right before you called me.” Ryuuji replied.  
Lewin looked up from the hamburger he was currently shoving in his mouth.

“Tha’s great.” The Texan said while chewing. “I have intel on one of the people who were apart of keeping Rin hostage.” Lewin paused for a moment to swallow. 

“We’ll meet up tomorrow and I’ll fill you in on everything.” He threw the empty bag in the garbage. “Thanks for the meal!” 

Ryuuji sighed. Of course the older man only wanted him to bring him a hamburger. What else could he have expected? 

As he rummaged through his pockets, he discovered that he lost his bus pass so he would have to walk back to his apartment. Thankfully it wasn’t too far away from this part of town so he got out his headphones and started walking. 

Ten minutes into his walk, he noticed a quick shadow dart into an alley and got a weird feeling. Figuring he was tired, he shrugged it off and continued on his way. It was only when he noticed the same shadow again 7 blocks later that he realized what was happening. 

He was being tailed. He did the first thing he could think of and called Lewin. When the man picked up on the final ring he tried to talk in as natural of a voice as he could muster. 

“Hey. something’s stuck to my shoe. Do you have any ideas?” They had come up with some code words a week into working together. 

_“So you use ‘Funky Town’ if there’s a gun to your head, ‘Five-O’ if you were caught by somebody and ‘something’s stuck to my shoe’ if you’re being followed! Simple enough, right?”_

_“Aren’t those from that show Supernatural, detective?”_

_“Yes. Why do you ask?”_

At the time Ryuuji rolled his eyes and never expected to use any of those phrases but holy shit was he glad that his mentor was a fanboy now.

“Shit. I should’ve expected that. Okay stay calm. I’ll track the GPS on your phone as long as you keep talking. Talk about anything for about 2 minutes, make it seem like you’re having a conversation.” Ryuuji was currently nervous as hell but trying to act like nothing was up.

“Okay cool, so to get gum out I gotta freeze it, and then I’ll be good. Thanks, man.” Ryuuji paused momentarily to catch his breath. _90 seconds to go_

“So anyway, I got these new pastels last week and I’m dying to try them out. Do you have any tips? I normally use Copic markers or paint when I draw so I’m a total newbie at this” He continued ranting on about his new art supplies for another 60 seconds until he felt a hand cover his mouth from behind. 

“Ryuuji, what was that? Stay on the line! I’ve almost got your location!” 

He dropped his phone and began fighting against his attacker. He managed to secure a kick to their crotch area and turned around to see who he was fighting against. To his surprise, the person had a mop of shockingly pink hair. Ryuuji’s heart seized up at the sight. 

_No. No no_

“Well, I guess the jig is up, eh?” Said a familiar voice. 

“Hiya Bon, would you make life ten times easier for me and come along willingly?” Renzou asked with his hand stretched out. Ryuuji backed up and went to pick up his phone. 

Renzou stomped on it before he could do so. “Ah ah ah! The boss’ll be real mad at me if I let you go. We can’t have that, now can we?”

Ryuuji wanted to ask numerous things, he wanted to cuss him out, tell him that he would be living on the street from now on but he found he couldn’t utter a single word to his childhood friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	8. I promise you I will fix my mistakes

“R-renzou why are you doing this?” Ryuuji asked in a quiet voice. 

“Do you really wanna know?” Renzou paused for a moment before continuing. 

“I hated everything.” A bitter smile spread across his face. “I was sick of having my entire life planned out for me. This is a lot more fun, eh?” Renzou then held out his hand once more.

“Renzou! The people you’re working with were responsible for Takezou’s death! They were behind the slaughter at our temple!” Ryuuji exclaimed. 

Renzou’s face darkened. “You don’t think I know that? All my life it’s been Takezou this, Takezou that” He paused once more before mimicking his brothers, “ Renzou, don’t forget, what would Takezou do?”

“Ren-”

“Don’t even try _bon_. I’m fucking sick of the excuses. I am not my brother!” He exclaimed bitterly. Shaking his head, he looked back at Ryuuji with a painful smile. 

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, please come with? I’d hate to have to hurt your pretty face~” The bastard had the audacity to wink after that. 

Ryuuji started slowly backing up and Renzou’s face morphed into a sinister look. 

“Okay fine, we’ll do it the hard way.” He put his hands up in frustration before fishing in his pockets for something. 

“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!” Renzou exclaimed as he inched closer, brandishing something silver. Ryuuji couldn’t process what was happening. His childhood friend was trying to kidnap him? The local pervert was threatening him at knife point? It just didn’t compute. Ryuuji’s mind was lost in thought of the traitor that he forgot about Lewin. It wasn’t until he heard footsteps coming down the alley way that he and Shima were in that he remembered Lewin was tracking him. 

”Aw shit, I didn’t wanna have to do this in front of an audience!” Renzou whined, like it was a grueling everyday task. (Renzou who was holding a knife up to him)

Ryuuji felt a sharp blow hit the back of his head and he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

The hospital allowed Rin to go see his father, but he had to stay in the wheelchair that they provided. Yukio wheeled his brother to their father’s room and Rin's heart was beating a mile a minute. He was happy that his father was alive, but the guilt was eating him alive. It was _his_ fault that Shiro got attacked. Rin sank lower and lower into his self-deprecating thoughts.

“Boys! I’m so glad to see you’re both alright!” Shiro exclaimed as Yukio rolled Rin’s chair into the room. Shiro tried sitting up straighter, but Yukio spoke up immediately. 

“Father, don’t try to sit up on your own. I don’t want you tearing your wounds.” After helping Shiro sit up properly, Yukio moved to sit in the chair beside the bed. 

Yukio and Shiro started talking, but Rin felt like they sounded a million miles away. He sat in the wheelchair looking at his feet. The guilt was becoming too much to bear. All he could think about was that it was his fault Shiro was in the hospital, it was his fau-

“Ground control to major Tom? You there Rin?” Shiro asked. 

Rin still refused to look up from his shoes. Shiro sighed and looked at Yukio, concern very evident in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” Rin said in a small voice. 

“What did you say?” Shiro questioned.

“I SAID I’M SORRY!” Rin exclaimed. Tears started pouring down his face“God I'm sorry, I’m so sorry!”

Shiro put his hand on Rin’s chin and forced his son to look up at him. 

“Rin, please stop apologizing, it was not your fault. I don’t blame you!” 

Before Rin could reply, the door slammed open and a man wearing a poncho and a safari hat came barreling in. He bent over and held one hand up, and another on his knee. He heaved for a few moments and then straightened up.

“Rin Okumura? I need you to come with me. Ryuuji’s been taken.” The man said after he caught his breath. 

“Detective Light? What are you doing here?” Yukio asked at the same time Rin exclaimed “Ryuuji is whAT NOW”

“Ryuuji was taken and I need you to help me get the people who did it.” Lewin explained. “I have reason to believe that the same people who held you captive are the ones who took Ryuuji.” 

Rin stared at him in shock for a moment. “I’m helping you no matter what!” He declared. Yukio and Shiro looked at him in disbelief. 

“Rin! You cannot walk at the moment! How the hell are you going to be able to save Suguro?” Yukio cried. 

“Your brother is right Rin, you’re not gonna be any help at the moment.” Shiro agreed. Rin tried protesting, but his father shut him down with a glare. Rin accepted defeat and Lewin sighed. Rin sat in his wheelchair and glared at his shoes.

* * *

Rin was silent for the rest of the night to his family’s dismay. After bringing him back to his room Yukio stood in the doorway, looking like he wanted to say something. He gave up after a moment and left. 

Rin settled into his bed and tried to clear his mind from the day's events. He only got a moment of silence when the door opened again. 

He sighed before speaking up. “Yukio I already told y-”  
“I’m not your brother kid, sorry.” Lewin interrupted. “Are you sure you want to help me?” 

Rin nodded. “Yes I do.” 

Lewin flopped down on the chair beside Rin’s bed, “I wanna catch this bastard at any cost, if you say you’re up to fighting then who am I to refuse extra help?”

“Let’s devise a plan.”

* * *

“Oi, bro! Why hasn’t he woken up yet? That spy didn’t hit him that hard, did he?” 

“Relax brother, I checked his pulse a few moments ago and he is still breathing.” 

Ryuuji opened his eyes to find that he was laying on the ground. A handsome looking blonde man came into his field of vision. 

“See, he’s awake.” The blonde man said, turning to the other people in the room. “Hello there. Glad to see you’re awake.” 

Ryuuji blinked a few times and moved to sit up. “Who the hell are you guys?” He asked as he tried moving back away from them. 

The blonde man smirked and thought for a moment before answering, “You can call me Lucifer,” He then pointed to the boy crouching and staring at him with a lollipop in his mouth. “He goes by Amaimon. And-” Before Lucifer could continue the introductions, the door to the basement slammed open and a tall hooded man stalked down the stairs. 

“That stupid spy Sam hired is useless! I told him not to reveal himself bu-” He seemed to notice Ryuuji sitting against the wall staring up at him. “Oh. He’s awake.” The man stepped closer and removed his hood. He had dark hair that looked almost blue when hit with the light, and dark blue eyes. Ryuuji knew as soon as he set eyes on the man that this was Rin’s father. Rin’s eyes were brighter though, his eyes had a certain spark that his father’s did not. 

Ryuuji’s throat went dry and his heart hammered as the man stepped closer. 

“So you’re the little bitch that my son kept mentioning?” Rin’s father gripped Ryuuji by his shirt collar and lifted him up to his feet. “You better hope that your boyfriend gets here soon or else I might have to mess up that pretty face of yours.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Ryuuji blurted out before he could stop himself. His blood went cold when the man in front of him visibly reacted to that. 

However, he was very surprised when he started laughing hysterically. “Y’know? That’s the exact thing my son said when we had him here.” He dropped Ryuuji painfully back to the ground.

He threw his hood back on and turned around. “Asteroth, stop torturing that pigeon and come with me.” 

“Yes dad.”

Dad? _Dad?_ He was their father too? These were Rin’s brothers? 

Ryuuji’s mind was reeling, he didn’t know how to process all that had happened in such a short amount of time. 

All he could do was hope that Lewin found him, and soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you so so much to the people who proof read this chapter for me <3 
> 
> I hope you’re all doing well, it’s already October! Spooky month! I probably won’t be updating again before Halloween, so have a great Halloween (to those who celebrate it) my birthday is also the day after Halloween so I am very excited hehe 
> 
> Sorry for rambling! I hope you enjoyed, and take care!


	9. I’m so sick of waiting here

After what felt like a few hours, they left Ryuuji alone. He didn't pay them any attention though, his mind was spinning. Fortunately, the dingy lamp was left on when Ryuuji was left in the basement. Now he wouldn’t be in complete darkness while thinking about how he was _fucking kidnapped by the man that he dedicated his entire life to chasing down._

The door creaked open and Ryuuji pretended that the ground was _very_ interesting, he didn’t want to try to have an awkward conversation again with the dude who only ate candy and stared at him. 

“Yo! Bon, I brought you water and a sandwich.” Renzou said as he walked down the stairs nonchalantly. Ryuuji snapped his head up to see Renzou walking towards him. A part of him felt relieved upon seeing his childhood friend, but then he remembered who brought him here. 

“Shima?” he whispered. Renzou grimaced and crouched in front of Ryuuji. 

“I thought you’d be hungry or something, so here ya go, it’s your favourite.” he held the egg sandwich in front of him. Ryuujij almost declined the peace offering, but his empty stomach needed some food _now_. He swiped the food out of Renzou’s outstretched hand and took a small bite. 

Renzou seemed satisfied with that, and sat down directly in front of Ryuuji. He was wearing a black hoodie and black jeans, very different from his usual attire. Ryuuji almost missed his lewd t-shirts. Shaking his head to clear that train of thought, he spoke up between bites of the sandwich. 

“I'm gonna ask again Renzou, why are you working for these terrible people? I already told you that they're responsible for all of the deaths at our tem-” 

“Stop,” Renzou cut him off, words dripping in sarcasm, “I know how determined you are at solving the case, but holy shit, you’re almost as bad as my family. It happened almost 20 years ago, Ryuuji! Why are your panties in such a twist?” Renzou huffed and shook his head. He threw on a bitter grin and passed the water bottle in his hands to Ryuuji. “Anyways, these guys aren’t too bad. At least not the one I’m working for.”

“How long have you been working for _them_?” Ryuuji asked, already dreading the answer. 

“Freshman year of highschool. I’ve held my tongue my entire life, what’s a few more years? I was hoping to room with ya a little longer, but I can’t ignore my orders.”

Renzou smiled at the horrified look on Ryuuji’s face and stood up, taking the garbage from the food with him. “I’ll see ya soon Bon. Try not to piss them off too much, yeah?” He laughed.

“They won’t hesitate to kill their bait if need be."

* * *

“So, what the hell am I doing again?” Rin asked, frowning. Lewin sighed and pulled the hamburger wrappers out of his pocket once more.

“Okay. This one is you,” He said, pointing at the balled up wrapper to his left.

“You’re going to walk straight in,” He motions to the second wrapper on the table, “While I hide in the surrounding area and wait for your signal, which is…” He looks pointedly at Rin.

“The signal is me flicking a light on and off three times in a row,” Rin replies, huffing in frustration, “I still don’t see why we can’t just storm in. You’re mister big-shot police man anyways, get a swat team!” 

“Kid, this is a rescue mission, you’re not supposed to fight anyone. I don’t wanna fill out the paperwork if you get hurt, it’d take way too long.” Lewin replied, shoving the hamburger wrappers into his pocket yet again. “Got it?” Rin nodded in agreement. 

“So. How’re ya gonna break me outta here?” He asked while taking a cautionary glance around the room. “It’s heavily guarded here, I'm surprised Yukio hasn’t come back yet.” 

Lewin held up the bag he brought with him.”Simple, I’ll disguise myself as a nurse and sneak you out.” He opened the bag and rifled through it. “I couldn’t find any scrubs, but this nurse outfit from the costume store should fit.” He pulled out an extremely short dress with a big red cross in the chest area. 

“What the fu-”

* * *

“I still say that nurse outfit would’ve looked amazing on me!” Lewin whined again to Rin’s dismay. 

“Be quiet!” He hissed before sighing, “I will only say this one more time, no sexy nurse outfit!” 

“You’re no fun.” Lewin pouted. 

“Shut up and push me faster!” Rin hissed back. They were almost out of the hospital, and Rin was thankful that they hadn’t been caught. He left a letter behind for his brother but he knew he was in for a lecture when he came back. A shiver went down his spine at the thought of how angry his twin will be.

When they finally reached the stairwell a few moments later, Lewin put the wheelchair into a safe corner.  
“Okay, time to walk. I’ll support your weight as much as I can.” Lewin held out his arm for Rin to pull himself up with. 

Once Rin was on his feet, he grabbed hold of the stairwell and made his way down. He cautiously descended the stairs, but had to stop when the pain became too overwhelming. However, Lewin didn’t think that now was a good time for a break so he pushed him down the last few steps. “C’mon Kid, we’re so close.” 

When they finally arrived at the car, Rin was wheezing and in pain all over. Lowering himself down in the passenger's seat, he waited for Lewin to get in. “Okay, we have roughly 15 minutes before anyone notices you’re gone. They might have already noticed. Anyways…” he trailed off as he took a cautionary glance around, “We gotta get the hell outta dodge.”

* * *

Rin stared at the house with dread. It was in a run down part of the town, and it was one of the best kept houses. The flowers were surprisingly well taken care of, and the front porch light was on. By all accounts, the house seemed normal. Rin could only wonder how the hell his father got this house, but decided not to think much about it as the question didn’t really seem to have any good answers.

He took a quick look back at the general direction Lewin was hiding in, and then slowly walked towards the door. Every step was agony, but he had to get Ryuuji out. The poor guy was innocent, he didn’t deserve to be taken by his dysfunctional family. 

“Oh? Brother?” Amaimon called from the upstairs window. He stared at Rin for a minute before turning and disappearing. Rin could hear faint yelling coming from the inside of the house. 

The door flew open and a tall blond man was standing there, huffing slightly. He straightened up and held a hand out towards Rin. “Welcome. Come in, please” Lucifer told him with a smile. A shiver went down Rin’s spine but he ignored it, and walked forward into the house.

“Sit, please!” Lucifer said, after he led Rin into the living room.

“I need to go attend to something, but our other brother will be entertaining you.” Amaimon came around the corner, with a chocolate bar in hand and a bored expression on his face. Rin inwardly sighed and avoided eye contact. 

They sat in silence, the only sound coming from the quiet chewing noises and the crinkling of the chocolate bar wrapper. As each second ticked by, Rin could feel his frustration growing. Just as he was about to get up and conduct his own investigation, the man beside him spoke up.

“Brother said to entertain you, but this is boring.” Amaimon bluntly said, turning to look at Rin. ”There’s a new toy in the basement that I quite like, but I left him because I thought that you’d be more fun to play with.” He took in Rin’s tired appearance before continuing, “I can now see how wrong I was.”

Rin’s eyebrow twitched and he tried to stay calm. 

“Can you show me your new toy?” He grit out, ignoring the obvious insult towards him. Amaimon shook his head and took another bite of chocolate. “Nope. Father said you’re not allowed to see him.” 

“Fine. Hard way it is.” Rin growled, as he grabbed Amaimon by the shirt collar. “Tell me where he is **now** ” Amaimon stared at him blankly and continued munching on his chocolate before stepping backwards out of Rin’s grip.

“Ugh!” He yelled after not getting the reaction he wanted. Rin sat back down on the couch and crossed his arms in annoyance, he thought Amaimon would be the easy one to crack. 

“Hey, you can leave, I got it from here.” Someone called out. Rin looked over where the voice was coming from and saw a man with pink hair emerging from the basement. His eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?” he asked.

“I’m Shima Renzou” He winked before turning to see if Amaimon was gone. Once they were safely alone Renzou leaned in towards Rin. “Listen, I’m a double spy yeah?” Rin’s eyes widened. 

“I dunno if you know much about Mephisto, but he’s working with that detective guy.” Renzou continued, “You’re here to get Bon out, yeah? I’ll show ya where he is.” He laughs nervously, “That’s about all I can do for ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> This past week, I went through and fixed up the previous chapters in this story. Nothing too major was changed! It was mainly to fix the formatting and to fix the flow of a few sentences. You can re-read if you'd like, but I did not change much at all.
> 
> A **huge** thank you to AlextheAlright who beta read this for me, you helped me out so much with this chapter and I am so grateful!!
> 
> Happy holidays, and a happy new year if I don't post another chapter before 2021!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thank you for reading!
> 
> Comments/kudos are always very appreciated, I love hearing what y’all think of the story so far!


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